Submission 162 — Tregear Presbyterian Preschool — Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative | External submission

Submission for the Inquiry into the Thriving Kids Initiative

To the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability

Parliament of Australia

Authors:

Louise Ong

Child and Family Practitioner

Tregear Presbyterian Preschool

Nicholas Stephens

Educational Leader / Room Leader

Tregear Presbyterian Preschool

Approved for submission by:

Mary Bernadette Reyes

Preschool Director

Tregear Presbyterian Preschool

October 3, 2025

Introduction

Thank you for the opportunity to submit our perspective as an early childhood and care

provider on the proposed Thriving Kids Program of the Committee on Health, Aged Care and

Disability. We outline our views below, along with the early intervention practices at preschool

and other support we provide children with additional needs, emphasising our call for support

to sustain the early intervention and inclusive practices we currently have.

Tregear Presbyterian Preschool and our children with additional learning support needs

Tregear Presbyterian Preschool is a 40-place preschool operating within a community

classified among the lowest socio-economic areas in Australia (Australian Bureau of

Statistics, 2023). Over the past three years, 30 to 40 per cent of our enrolments have been

children with additional needs. This year, 10 out of 21 of our children with needs have a

diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and these children present with some form of

developmental delay and social-emotional deficits.

Early intervention in Tregear Presbyterian Preschool and its costs

As a community-based preschool, Tregear Presbyterian Preschool is funded through the

Start Strong Program, and most of our families access the Fee Relief Funding. Children with

additional needs in our preschool are supported with funding received from the Disability and

Inclusion Program.

The current funding we receive allows us to implement inclusive practices and provide

early intervention for children with additional needs, as long as we remain frugal. However,

this does not come without an additional burden, not only in the financial costs of employing

additional educators and retaining a trans-disciplinary team, but also in terms of the

psychological safety and well-being of our educators and staff.

See Appendix I for the inclusion support framework we implement at Tregear

Presbyterian Preschool.

What has been working for us so far

Employing allied health professionals as part of our trans-disciplinary team. Allied health professionals, such as speech and occupational therapists, work

alongside our educators and families to help create Individual Learning Plans (ILP)

and develop early intervention strategies that can be used in the classroom and at

home. Speech and occupational therapists also work in our classrooms to model the

implementation of ILP strategies and provide advice and hands-on support to

educators in their role of educating our children with additional needs.

Employing a designated Child and Family Wellbeing Lead in the service. We have recently retained a Child and Family Practitioner (CFP) within the service,

who is a vital member of the preschool’s transdisciplinary team. The CFP’s role is to

coordinate all aspects of the preschool’s inclusion support framework, focusing on

building collaborative partnerships with families, coordinating community supports and

referrals, and equipping educators with the knowledge and tools to foster nurturing and

inclusive settings. The CFP also work alongside our Indigenous Community Engagement

Educator to enhance the preschool’s connections to the broader community, improving

families’ access to community services and promoting holistic outcomes for children and

their families.

Reducing our child-to-educator ratio. Our service has a substantial number of children identified as having high learning

support needs, some developmental delays are apparent, some may not necessarily

present with severe physical and intellectual disability, however, these children often

present with extreme behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. We have resorted to

rostering more educators working in the classrooms to prevent risks to the safety of

children with special needs and other children in our care, and to reduce the burden on

our exhausted educators.

Preserving non-contact time for early childhood teachers and educators. Non-contact time is essential for enhancing collaboration with families, allied health

professionals, and other support systems in the development and implementation of

learning plans, while also ensuring these plans are practical and efficient. Educators also

use this time to plan and document children’s development, which requires additional

staffing to keep the classroom ratio. A regular casual pool is maintained at our service,

and the casual employees are known to children, providing continuity of care and

offering familiarity to our children with additional needs.

Working alongside primary schools to implement a responsive transition to kindergarten for identified children.

With parents’ permission, we would contact the primary school early to attempt to

work collaboratively, ensuring that a child with additional needs at our service has a

chance at success in kindergarten and beyond. This includes providing our families with

information sessions about kindergarten, assisting with kindergarten enrolments and

applications for access to support in primary school. We have facilitated meetings

between the primary schools’ learning and support teams, our educators, and parents, as

well as observations at the preschool, to support the child during this critical transition

period.

Relationship-focused Early Intervention – Inclusion support plan in 2026

At the start of 2026, we will trial an early intervention program for children with

additional needs at our preschool. The preschool will offer three hours per week of supported

preschool time for a small number of children with needs. During this period, Speech

Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and our Child and Family Practitioner will work

alongside our educators, children, and families, focusing on improving educator capacity,

classroom strategies, parent-child interactions, parental adjustment, and strengthening

community and social supports for families. On early intervention days, other educators will

have non-contact time to work on planning and documentation. The goal of this program is to

increase educators’ capacity, enhance collaboration with parents and caregivers, boost social

supports for families, and preserve non-contact time for our educators. We would be pleased

to welcome a representative from the Thriving Kids Initiative to observe our preschool and

gain any insights from our practice.

Case Studies

We present a few brief case studies of children who underwent early intervention at

our preschool and successfully transitioned to kindergarten, demonstrating improvements in

their daily functioning, social-emotional regulation, social skills, and speech and language

skills.

The case of D.T. and K.T., siblings with ASD Diagnosis

D.T. and K.T. enrolled at Tregear Presbyterian Preschool a year apart. Both siblings

started preschool at age 3, and at the beginning of their preschool journey, neither sibling had

access to any support. Both presented with autism traits, severe speech and language delay,

and severe social and emotional skills deficit. The family also faces socio-economic

challenges, which further exacerbate the challenges and barriers they experience. During their

time at preschool, we were able to support the family with the following supports;

Formal assessments and diagnosis brokered through a community partner (The

Hive Mount Druitt)

Application for NDIS Early Childhood Early Intervention funding to access interventions
One-on-one speech pathology and occupational therapy sessions at preschool
We have also connected the family to other community partners who were able to help with food and other daily living struggles
Responsive transition to kindergarten and access support application The preschool supported the children with early intervention, in addition to providing

early education and care. Educators worked collaboratively alongside allied health

professionals and the children’s parents, allowing us to achieve meaningful outcomes such as

improved speech and functioning for the siblings and relief to their family. The children were

transitioned to kindergarten and are now thriving with the support they receive. The

transdisciplinary approach to intervention and collaboration of preschool practitioners and the

family, combined with one-on-one therapy sessions, has helped the siblings flourish in

preschool. Although we have seen results of positive outcomes, the nature of their diagnosis

and the risk of regression require them to be supported for the rest of their lives.

The case of H.F., a child with ASD

H.F. is similar to the siblings in the previous case. The child’s father knocked on our

preschool door one afternoon, desperate for help as he was unsure how to access early

education for his child. He previously enquired at another centre, which could not enrol his

child due to the mother relinquishing care, and his name was not on his son’s birth certificate.

He also feared the school would deny care due to his child presenting with severe language

and developmental delays. We assisted the family in accessing the same early intervention

and inclusion support provided to D.T. and K.T., in addition to helping complete enrolment

documentation before starting preschool.

H.F. presented with severe challenges in social and emotional development, coupled

with a severe delay in language and communication skills when he first started preschool.

H.F. is now in year 2 and has shown significant improvement in his language and daily

functioning skills. He may have improved significantly and may now appear to have mild

disability, but undoubtedly still needs funding to access therapy for his continued

development. He still sees the speech pathologist who has been providing one-on-one therapy

for him since preschool.

The case of C.G., a child with ASD

The transition to preschool was extremely challenging for C.G.. He did not have a

diagnosis or any formal assessment, and the first few weeks of school were pervaded with

wails and cries, his mother constantly doubting her decision to enrol C.G. in preschool. We

persisted with gentle support and consistent effort, taking care to be responsive to C.G.’s

mother’s needs and slowly building her confidence as a parent of a child with additional

needs. A community partner brokered his diagnosis, and we were able to support with an

application for NDIS funding through the Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI)

program. He is now flourishing in kindergarten, as his mother reports that he is one of the top

readers in his class, having received awards, and even supports another child with special

needs in his classroom. Like the other children described previously, C.G. will likely require

continuous support with external funding for intervention to facilitate his continued

development and prevent his severe anxiety from recurring, as his difficulties with transitions

and changes in routine still endure.

Other Cases

We have numerous cases at preschool similar to the three described above. We have

supported several children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at preschool who

present with behavioural challenges. Like children with ASD, they also require one-on-one

intervention, provided mainly by behavioural and occupational therapists or psychologists.

Families of young children with mild forms of disability need support in navigating

community services, overcoming barriers to accessing a paediatrician and other healthcare

practitioners.

We may be able to request testimonies from families if required by your office.

Recommendation for Action

ASD prognosis, continuous support by providing funding beyond the age of 8

Research suggests that children with ASD gain benefits from early intervention in

improving their prognosis, by supporting the development of cognitive and social skills, and

addressing stereotyped behaviours early on (Pires et al, 2024). Individuals with Autism

Spectrum Disorder often experience co-occurring conditions such as attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder, social skills deficits, anxiety disorders, mental health issues, and

neurological disorders that can significantly affect their adaptive living skills later in life

(Forde et al, 2020; Al-Beltagi, 2021). It is only fair and reasonable to provide funding through

the NDIS- ECEI or Thriving Kids beyond the age of 8 for intervention or one-on-one therapy.

For example, to continue psychological intervention for those whose social skills deficits may

linger, and those at risk of developing severe anxiety or mental health issues.

We urge you to consider the consequences of excluding children with ASD and other

forms of mild disabilities from the National Disability and Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the

long-term impacts of denying funding for children on the autism spectrum to access

interventions. Like ASD and ADHD, other mild forms of developmental disabilities present

with comorbid conditions, and what may seem like a mild disability can potentially become

significant if not addressed early on and not provided continued support. It would be prudent

to consider the future economic costs and societal impacts of this reform.

Why would we risk further marginalisation of our neurodiverse children when we can

support them to flourish and become adults who can contribute positively to our society?

A call for support in enhancing the role of the Educational Leader in early learning

services

With educators striving to meet the diverse needs of children in our program, there is

a growing need for a full-time, off-the-floor Educational Leader.

Currently, this role is shared between two early childhood trained teachers who each

dedicate only one hour per week to program reflection. A full-time Educational Leader would

provide the leadership and continuity required to:

Drive the development of key educational priorities.
Support Room Leaders in designing programs aligned to these priorities.

Mentor and upskill staff through critical reflection.
Promote educator wellbeing by prioritising staff voices in decision-making. This dedicated role would ensure consistent oversight of the program, creating a

coordinated approach to achieving learning outcomes. It would also strengthen Quality Area

1: Educational Program and Practice and Quality Area 5: Relationships with Children.

A call for funding to implement a sustainable early intervention program, and support to

address the issue of staff psychological safety and well-being

While the programs and strategies described above enable us to achieve meaningful

outcomes for children and support families, we struggle to sustain them due to rising costs of

classroom resources, salaries, and other expenses. Our educators suffer daily from burnout

and exhaustion, as well as secondary trauma caused by caring for a significant number of

children with needs. We have yet to address the issue, and in the past, we attempted to retain

a counsellor who could provide individual counselling and trauma-informed supervision to

educators and staff regularly; however, the cost of obtaining a counselling supervisor is

beyond our means. The preschool considers this issue a top priority; however, we struggle to

find more creative ways to utilise the limited resources already available to us.

Should the Thriving Kids Program and the national NDIS reform assign the

responsibility of providing early supports to children with ASD and other forms of mild

disabilities to early childhood and care services, we require substantial support. We plead and

urgently ask for it, as we are desperate and fear losing highly passionate educators and staff,

ultimately risking the very purpose we serve – delivering high-quality early childhood

education and care to children, many of whom are vulnerable, in our community.

Appendix I

Tregear

Presbyterian

WAITLIST AND

ENROLMENT

Regular check-ins with guardians of children on the waitlist.

Parents and children are invited to the preschool for a visit before enrolment.

Families are supported in addressing barriers to enrolment.

For children who have developmental concerns, collaborating with guardians to see if they may benefit from support provided through our referral pathways.

VULNERABLE

FAMILIES

Preschool

Inclusion Support Framework

Tregear Presbyterian Preschool recognises that meeting children’s needs and enabling them to truly flourish in preschool and beyond, requires an early collaborative approach involving the family, the early learning setting, a multi disciplinary team, and community partners. This support is provided from the beginning during waitlist registration and enrolment, throughout the child’s preschool education, to transitioning to primary school.

ORIENTATION

Director meets with the parent/guardian to discuss family background, the child’s strengths, needs, and goals.

The child attends orientation session/s to support the transition.

A responsive transition is implemented, which may include a consistent drop off routine coordinated between parent and educator, paired with a gradual increase in the child’s hours.

SUPPORT

WITH

DIAGNOSIS

Assisting parents to understand the diagnosis and providing support in implementing recommendations. Supporting parents with navigating early childhood intervention and providing referrals to allied health practitioners. Collaborating with carers and the child’s allied health practitioners to ensure that therapy goals and strategies are aligned across home, clinic, and school.

Tregear

Presbyterian

Preschool

Inclusion Support Framework

o ©

PRESCHOOL

STRATEGIES

PARENT AND

CARER SUPPORT

SUPPORT

WITHOUT

DIAGNOSIS

Using a strengths-based and person-centred approach to sensitively discuss with the family the child’s strengths, helping to identify learning needs. Considering familial, cultural, social, and other contexts to understand the child’s strengths and challenges better. Assisting families in navigating community resources for children with identified needs, even in the absence of a formal diagnosis.

TRANSITION

TO SCHOOL

Assisting with challenges related to enrolment and attendance, including completion of enrolment documentation, cultural and language barriers, and other socio-economic barriers.

Connecting families to the broader community to expand their social support network.

Prioritising vulnerable children with additional needs for access to therapy sessions at preschool.

Children’s Individual

Learning Plans (ILPs) are developed in collaboration with parents, educators, and specialists.

Regular follow-up meetings with families are held to ensure that goals are aligned and that the implemented strategies are practical and effective. A transdisciplinary approach is adopted, with allied health practitioners, educators, and inclusion support advisors working together to help children achieve their best outcomes.

We recognise that the relationship between parents/carers and their children is the most significant factor in a child’s development and well-being.

Our goal is to support parents in their roles and enhance their ability to promote their child’s development.

We aim to improve the quality of relationships between parents and educators by fostering collaboration through open communication and regular check-ins.

Assisting families with applications for access support in primary school. Completing transition-to school statements and conducting handovers for some children to ensure continuity of support. Communicating with the primary school before the start of kindergarten to transfer information about children who require a high level of support.

References

Forde, J., Bonilla, P. M., Mannion, A., Coyne, R., Haverty, R., & Leader, G. (2022). Health

status of adults with autism spectrum disorder. Review Journal of Autism and

Developmental Disorders, 9(3), 427-437.

Al-Beltagi, M. (2021). Autism medical comorbidities. World journal of clinical

pediatrics, 10(3), 15.

Pires, J. F., Grattão, C. C., & Gomes, R. M. R. (2024). The challenges for early intervention

and its effects on the prognosis of autism spectrum disorder: a systematic

review. Dementia & neuropsychologia, 18, e20230034.